WASHINGTON (KFSM) — The National Fraternal Order of Police has declared the proposed tax bill a victory, according to a press release.
President Chuck Canterbury declared victory for FOP members and their retirement plans in the final version of the bill.
“Our top concern with the House version of the bill was section 5001 which would have subjected the investments of state and local retirement systems to the unrelated business income tax (UBIT),” he said. “Approximately two-thirds of state and local pension benefits are funded by investment earnings. Imposing the UBIT on these plans would have negatively impacted our members’ retirement and ultimately increased the cost to taxpayers. We were successful in knocking out this proposal.”
The elimination of the UBIT provision was not the only victory, according to Canterbury. The FOP strongly opposed the elimination of the state and local tax deduction in the house-passed version of the bill.
The final legislation will allow members who itemize their returns to claim up to $10,000 in deductions for state and local tax deduction instead of losing it altogether.
“We were very concerned about the elimination of the SALT deductions and continue to believe that this double taxation is not fair,” Canterbury said. “But with the high cap on those deductions, we believe the impact on our members who itemize will be minimal and that other cuts and gains in the legislation will benefit all of our members.”
Congress will begin voting on the bill Wednesday (Dec. 20).
